The Final Frontier

Truth be told, most of my knowledge of space travel is based on the movie "Space Camp."

Today was the launch of Atlantis, the final space shuttle launch for the foreseeable future.

As this blog is in its infancy, I feel I need to take some time to think about what this would mean for the 7-year-old version of myself, who may not have been obsessed with space travel, but it gave him a chance to wonder about the great unknown. I think many of us dreamed about the potential for space travel as children. It’s an incredible thing to not only think about the life that may exist on other planets, but just the vastness and not knowing what’s out there.

I know that the retirement of the 30-year-old space shuttle program by NASA means a focus on other projects in the future, including new rockets designed to take men on far-off asteroids and eventually to Mars, but it’s wild to think that something that caused so much imagination in that part of me is no longer in existence.

During my time there have been tragedies concerning space travel, but also incredible discoveries and the construction of the International Space Station. I only hope that as the space shuttle program comes to an end, I’ll get to experience what’s next for NASA, and humanity.

Although I won't be going to space anytime soon, I can get the chance to see the shuttles up close. When Atlantis returns, it will be on display at the Kennedy Space Center, while other shuttles will be on display at other museums throughout the country. I owe it to myself -- and to 7-year-old me -- to make the trip soon.

7-year-old me would have been disappointed to hear that the U.S. was planning to shut down the program, but it would mostly be for selfish reasons because he was never able to travel in one of the shuttles. 24-year-old me can relate.